Monday, December 26, 2016

Another year comes to an end which means it is time for Top of 2016 lists. Since religion and science are two of my favorite topics, this year I give you my Top Religion-Science Related news. I selected these from science aggregators throughout the year as a way to disprove the tired "Religion vs Science" canard. I would say that 2016 was quite a year for the intersection of science and religion, with many scientists taking a look at the benefits that religion has on "homo-sapiens", as well as important contributions religion has given to astronomy and ecology. But don't believe me, just peruse the list and tell me if I missed anything!

By far, the most important Science news of the year was the discovery of Gravitational Waves, an event which has the potential to change our understanding of reality. What does this have to do with religion? I'm not too sure but there is a reason why the Vatican Observatory is organizing an international workshop to map the way ahead. Lets see what develops from this gathering of top notch scientists and theologians. Other significant discoveries were:

Astronomers discover RR Lyrae type stars in the center of the Milky Way - An international team of astronomers has discovered for the first time a type of ancient star in the center of our Galaxy. What does this have to do with religion? Well, part of the team were scientists that are employed at the Vatican observatory. Just another nail in the coffin of the old "Catholic Church vs Science" fable.

Science Daily publishes article on Echotheology - The online news aggregator Science Daily published a report about a recent paper
proposing that the efforts of Christian theology in understanding the
role of Man in the environment are not limited to the last few years. In fact, Christian theology has a long and distinguished history of wanting to understand. The most
surprising statement in the paper is this:

"The vast majority of us subscribe to the idea that human activity
dramatically changes the natural environment, altering many biological
processes. But addressing the global nature of human impact may require
help from belief systems large enough to conceptualize on a cosmic scale"

Is
science starting to realize that, when it comes to humans, without the
cosmological view that religion provides to define our common destiny as created
creatures, they will never be able to gain main-stream acceptance? Only
time will tell! Religious service attendance associated with lower suicide risk among women - A study in June revealed that attending religious ceremonies not only does marvels for your spiritual life, but it also lowers your chances of suicide.

Worldwide study reverses notion most scientists are atheists -
"The study's results challenge longstanding assumptions about the
science-faith interface. While it is commonly assumed that most
scientists are atheists, the global perspective resulting from the study
shows that this is simply not the case." In other words, the majority of the world's scientists are religious and they do not try to keep science and religion exclusive.

Winner of distinguished astronomy award speculates about the star of Bethlehem - "Florida International University astronomer, Professor Caroline Simpson, provides scientific insight into what may explain the Christmas Star phenomenon. Simpson studies how galaxies and the universe evolve over time. She is the recipient of the 2016 Richard H. Emmons Award for excellence in college astronomy teaching and one of the first physics professors at FIU to transform a basic introductory astronomy course for non-science majors into an active learning class." The funny thing about this one is that she reached the same conclusion I reached after my own research on this topic. You can hear my thoughts on this topic at my now semi-retired podcast "The Hidden Bible"